Justice Secretary Leila de Lima bared her decision to return to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) as ex-officio member following the move of the constitutionally-created body not to include her in its shortlist of nominees for the next chief justice.
“I will go back to the JBC. I will sit there as an ex-officio member because that is the constitutional mandate of my part,” De Lima said during a press briefing held in Malacañang yesterday.
Article VIII, Section 8 (1) of the Constitution provides that the JBC should be composed of the Chief Justice as ex-officio chairman, the Secretary of Justice and a representative of Congress as ex-officio members and four regular members composed of a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court (SC), and a representative of the private sector.
De Lima said she saw no problem with her working again with the JBC.
The JBC submitted on Monday to President  Aquino a list of eight nominees for the next SC chief justice as the August 27 deadline for filling up the vacant position draws near.
The list does not include the justice secretary. The JBC also on Monday voted to disqualify De Lima, who is facing two disbarment cases before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
Five SC “insiders” are on the shortlist, including acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio (7 votes) as well as Associate Justices Roberto Abad (6 votes), Arturo Brion (6 votes), Maria Lourdes Sereno (6 votes), and Teresita Leonardo-De Castro (5 votes).